rashbre central: update on updating the updates with more updates

Monday 30 January 2012

update on updating the updates with more updates

HAL 9000
My PC saga continues. Luckily it's a secondary machine and it is really for a single purpose. I suppose I should come clean and admit I bought the (inexpensive) computer in a supermarket along with the weekly groceries.

Anyhow, after I'd fixed the Wi-Fi connection that didn't work on the brand new machine, I decided to load the software I'd bought the machine to use.

Actually before that, Windows asked me to tarry a while to allow it to do 32 systems updates. I decided it best to leave it overnight to burble away.

Then to load in the DVD containing the main software. A further problem. The brand new software required an update before it would work properly.

"Open the pod bay doors, Hal"

"Sorry, (Dave), I can't do that *"


Something to do with Windows 7 and x64. Then a couple more re-boots.

Then the newly uploaded software said it also needed an upgrade.

This one took a long time because it decided it needed to re-download the entire software suite from the internet. It was less than 2 GB but still took a while. Except it failed part way through the first couple of times.

I plugged the machine back into an ethernet connection and reran the download.

Another overnight process to install the new version.

Except...It said it needed to do a further upgrade. Just a small one this time.

Oh and then one more.

Another day passed.

But hooray all the bits have now been installed, plus a couple of other drivers.

Four days from purchase to first proper use.

I suspect many would have surrendered long before the end of this process.

The PC equivalent of "It just works" seems to be "It finally works" although judging from Windows 8's new 'BSOD Blue Screen of Death' error message, there's going to be an attempt to make errors look like fun. Windows 8 BSOD (allegedly)
* tangentially, have you noticed that if you ask an iPhone Siri to sing you a song it will choose "Daisy, Daisy"?

2 comments:

Nikki - Notes of Life said...

Oh dear... So gone are the days when you could "Plug & play" so to speak?! I hope I don't have to buy a new computer soon... I can't be doing with all that!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

So, tell me the lesson: Is it Windows 7, (which is a just a slightly re-worked Vista...)??
OR, Is it that it was such an inexpensive Computer?